Study Says SMBs Have Little Awareness Telecom Trends

A study conducted by Hanover Research reveals that almost all of small to medium businesses have little awareness of tech trends in business telephone systems. Most aren’t using many of the advanced telephone features, even those that are broadly available.

This survey was given to 427 participants. Each was either a maker of purchase decisions or in a position to influence such decisions. The survey covered 22 U.S. industries among companies with fewer than 500 employees. Here are some of its of key insights relating the use of business telephone systems by SMBs:

· The large majority are not familiar with telecom terminology (i.e., IP telephony, virtual PBX, or SIP trunks).

· 74 percent stated that their voice communication is extremely important to their operations, despite the rise of email, video, and social media.

· Currently the top five business telephone features used most by SMBs are:

conference call bridges

intercom

music on hold

3-way calling

extensions

· The top five most wanted business telephone features are:

remote desk phones

music on hold

voicemail as email attachments

mobile client for desk phone

3-way calling

· Nearly one out of every two SMBs are planning to look into a new business telephone system in the near future. Of this group, 86 percent plan to do this within three years. Outdated or old communications equipment was the top reason, according to 64 percent of this group.

What does it all add up to for you?

Simple: Now is a great time to dive into the telecom re-seller market!